Future - My (A1/FreeBandz/Epic, 2012)
Future squeaks like a mouse for three minutes, and it’s wonderful.
Future (feat. T.I.) - Magic (Freebandz/Epic, 2012)
Future and Tip chill out on the top of Magic City for the latest single from Future’s Pluto. Even though I don’t like this version as much as the original T.I.-less version found on True Story, it’s always to great to get new visuals from the Askranawt Kid.
Gucci Mane (feat. Future) - Sometimes (Brick Squad, 2012)
It appears that Gucci is spending more time writing these days, and less time shaving (what’s with the crustache, man?). I’ve actually avoided this track for a couple days, and I’m regretting that now. Since Freebrickz dropped last year, I’ve been well under the assumption that Gucci and Future have absolutely no chemistry. Despite the cues that Future takes from Gucci’s playbook, both are two distinctly different rappers that compliment eachother in no way. Unfortunately, they have the same fanbase, and that means they’re gonna be collaborating until the day one of them does one too many lines.
It’s been frustrating following Gucci, and though some may argue that Gucci has been showing flashes of brilliance once again, this isn’t the first time that Gucci has really been spitting well again. Both “North Pole” and the Yo Gotti-assisted ”Animosity“ from Mike Will’s mixtape were strong reasons for me to believe Gucci maybe back to form. Truthfully, he’s been rapping well on and off since last year’s Writing On The Wall II/Freebrickz (which didn’t work as a collaboration, but did allow Gucci to flex his pen for a minute before being hauled back to jail). While the leaks for Trap Back are good (I don’t think any of them really constitute as the best thing Gucci’s done in the past 12 months), I’m still not convinced if this is the return of the Gucci of yore.
“Sometimes” is great though. Gucci’s rapping pretty openly about his life for a change, his top down so he can “look up at the galaxy” to clear his mind. His verse is so good that it’s almost a shame when Future comes on. Though Future is moderately self-aware here, he still misses the opportunity to silence critics by focusing on the skulls and spikes that he really spent too much time rapping about on Astronaut Status. It’s not that what Future is doing is bad, by any means, but when stacked up against a driven Gucci, he does fall flat (it doesn’t help that Drumma’s production brings Future’s normal energy down to a stuttering halt). This is exactly why Freebrickz failed as a whole.
Trap Back will come out on February 5th. It will probably be simultaneously great and uneven. Which means I’ll listen to it more than anything else this year.
Future - True Story (Review)
(Freebandz, 2011)
- by Yayo
Future is almost solely the reason I came back to blogging. During my hiatus, I stumbled across Dirty Sprite, after noticing a few friends highlighting the Atlanta rapper’s ode to codeine and pop beverages. Future, whose real name Nayvadius Cash is envious in its strength, was exactly what I’d been looking for in a world crowded by lo-fi bedroom rap and post-Waka trap music. He was just street enough to appeal to the dopeboys and critics infatuated with the lifestyle, while possessing pop sensibilities that allowed him to a crossover success with Racks and Tony Montana.
There’s no denying the fact that Future can make hits. His signature croak, a deep-bellow that is far more sinister than Wayne’s, but not quite as bombastic as his bigger figured peers, give his raps a distinct sound. His sometimes autotuned-assisted hooks work because Future’s God-given voice doesn’t derive too far from the pitch corrector’s often maligned sound. It’s often hard to tell where the autotune starts and ends for Future; sometimes it’s questionable if it’s used at all, or if Future is taking vocal cues from Kermit the Frog.
Young Jeezy (feat. Future) - Way Too Gone (Def Jam, 2011)
Jeezy’s TM103 could’ve been a lot worse than it ended up, but thanks to some smart production decisions, as well as a decent cast of guest appearances to help lift the load (no Alley Boy), it is a solid entry in Jeezy’s catalogue, if nothing else. It is undoubtedtly the worst album Jeezy’s released to date, and he is little more than a shadow of his once dominant self, but we know those odds are often defied in the world of rap.
Perhaps the moment that glistens the brightest on TM103 is the Mike Will-helmed, Future assisted Way Too Gone. Way Too Gone starts off strangely enough with Jeezy’s voice run through a filter, the volume adjusted a few decibles below where it should be, making you question if you just downloaded a faulty copy of the album. The Mike Will Made It tag comes in, and the next four minutes are glorious. Jeezy’s hook-making ability is strong here, as it is often on the album, and Mike Will’s lushly-trap instrumental adds a lot to the atmosphere.
Future obviously kills it on the last verse - I’m really surprised he wasn’t given hook duty, but I guess Jeezy didn’t want shown-up that badly. As much as I like 2 Chainz, it’s funny seeing his feature Supafreak trying to follow this. Neither the beat nor 2 Chainz’ verse can compete with the combination of Mike Will and Future - potentially the most potent duo in all of rap at the moment.
Future - Ain’t No Way Around It (E1, 2011)
I have to give Drama a lot of props for giving Future the sole honor of having a solo track on his latest album, The Third Power. Despite Future recently signing to a major label, and the fact that Drama’s albums have little relevance in comparison to his mixtapes, this is Future’s first appearance (to my knowledge of these things) on a studio album. I was a bit dissapointed that it wasn’t a new track, but you can’t really go wrong with one of the strongest cuts from arguably Future’s best project yet, True Story.
The video though - well, that’s a different story. Within the first minute we see a girl vomiting, an impersonation of Michael Douglas from Falling Down, and Future (sporting a cool Back to The Future patch) rapping inside a poison control center. I mean really, what the fuck is going on here?
Whatever, though. Askranawt Keed 4 Lyf.
Future - Tony Montana (FreeBandz/Sony Music, 2011)
so apparently Future has eyes?
